Notre Dame stun No 1 Miami 31-24 to shake up playoff picture
CJ Carr threw three touchdowns as No 4 Notre Dame avenged last season's heartbreak against Miami, surviving a late fourth-down review to leave only two unbeaten teams in the country.
Notre Dame beat Miami 31-24 on Saturday night, handing the previously unbeaten Hurricanes their first defeat of the season and avenging a loss that had cost the Irish a place in last year's College Football Playoff.
CJ Carr threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Irish, who built a 24-3 advantage early in the third quarter and never trailed, according to Guardian US Sport. Micah Gilbert caught two of his scoring passes, Jordan Faison added another, and Nolan James Jr ran one in as Notre Dame improved to 8-1.
Miami, also 8-1 and ranked No 1 in the College Football Playoff standings, were without injured wide receiver and Heisman contender Malachi Toney and started slowly on offense before rallying. Darian Mensah threw three touchdown passes of his own, twice cutting the deficit to seven points, with Cooper Barkate catching two and Elija Lofton the other.
The decisive moment came with 3:36 remaining, when Lofton appeared to haul in a fourth-down touchdown in the end zone that would have brought Miami level at 31-30. Notre Dame's Luke Talich, who had already intercepted Mensah earlier in the game, knocked the ball away before officials ruled the catch incomplete. The Irish took over on downs and ran out the clock to seal the win.
Miami coach Mario Cristobal said afterwards he was "beyond upset" about the ruling. "Obviously, a tough loss to take," he said. "Proud of our players for the resilience.... Don't leave it in the hands of the officials. Play better. Coach better. Find a way to win."
Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman praised his team's response in a result he called significant for the programme. "I'm happy for this university," he said. "I'm happy for our players. There's a lot of support from Notre Dame Nation and this is special moment for them.... They're a dang good football team and they beat a dang good football team."
Yahoo Sports reported that the occasion carried added weight as a tribute to Lou Holtz, the former Irish coach who died earlier this year, and described the atmosphere as one of the most charged of the season. The outlet also credited Carr with outplaying Mensah statistically, completing 72.5% of his passes without an interception compared with Mensah's 55.8% completion rate and one pick.
The win was not without blemishes. Notre Dame committed seven penalties for 56 yards, a season-high figure that Yahoo Sports noted as one of the game's few rough edges, though it did not prevent the Irish from controlling the contest from start to finish.
Miami's defeat leaves only two teams unbeaten through nine games of the Football Bowl Subdivision season: Utah and UCLA, both of whom moved to 9-0 with wins of their own on Saturday. Guardian US Sport noted it is the first time since 2003, when TCU and Oklahoma were the lone survivors, that so few teams have remained unbeaten this deep into the campaign.
The result is expected to lift Notre Dame in both the national polls and the College Football Playoff rankings as the Irish push to secure their postseason place after last year's near-miss, while Miami must regroup with the playoff picture now considerably tighter at the top.